LeftInTheDarkness by Stephani Hecht Read Free Book Online

doped up.” Taylor took a deep breath as he blinked away the tears. “She kept calling me Tommy. Even then, it still took me a few minutes to realize that she hadn’t meant to call me at all. She had just dialed the wrong number.”
    “Shit,” Christian breathed.
    Taylor gave a jerky shrug. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, it just hurt because I thought that she cared at least a little bit about me.”
    “I’m sure she does. After all, she does go to PFLAG meetings and stuff.”
    “I guess you do have a point.”
    And Taylor knew that Christian did have a point, it was just that after seeing how his friend’s family acted, it made Taylor all the more aware of how messed up his home life had been.
    They didn’t talk until they reached the school. After he put the car in park and turned off the ignition, Christian turned to Taylor. “She doesn’t deserve you. None of them do.”
    Taylor looked down at his lap as he gave a half-hearted nod. While he would like to believe that, after so many years of being told he was a loser, it was hard for him to think otherwise.
    “I mean it,” Christian said in a strong voice. “You are a better person than Tommy or your dad ever will be. I don’t blame your mom as much since she has her own issues to deal with, but as far as I’m concerned, your father and brother are the ones who are missing out. You are great, and they are too stupid to realize it.”
    Taylor glanced up and saw by the determined set of Christian’s eyes that he really meant that statement. He wasn’t just throwing around words to make Taylor feel better.
    “Thank you…for everything.”
    Christian leaned over and gave him a hug. “You would do the same for me.”
    That was true. Taylor would do almost anything for his friend. Once they broke apart, they both looked toward the school.
    “Are you ready for this?” Christian asked.
    “I guess so. I know it will sound strange, but I hate all the attention I’ve been getting. I kind of wish everybody would just forget about me again. It’s weird knowing that the only reason they like me is because they feel sorry for me.”
    Christian opened the car door. “Talk to Devlin. He’ll tell you that they’ll turn on all of us again soon enough.”
    Yeah, that sounded like something their jaded buddy would say. Shaking his head, Taylor took off his seatbelt and got out. As he swung his backpack over his shoulder, a jolt of pain shot through him, and he let out a low hiss.
    “Do you need me to carry your books?” Christian offered, his eyes growing wide with concern.
    “Thanks, but I got it. I need to get used to doing everything again.”
    As they walked inside, Taylor couldn’t help but notice the number of conversations that stopped as they passed. It made him feel awkward and embarrassed at the same time.
    “I feel like I’m wearing a sign that says victim on it,” Taylor grumbled.
    Devlin came rushing over and put an arm around Christian’s shoulders. “Just flip them off. That’s what I would do.”
    Taylor smiled, happy to see his friend. “You would flip off the Pope.”
    “Only if he ticked me off.”
    Devlin tilted head down and playfully nibbled on Christian’s neck.
    “Gah.” Taylor pretended to cover his eyes. “I don’t know what’s stranger, seeing you in a good mood or the fact that you two are actually a couple.”
    “I say both of them are disgusting,” Andy said as he came over and started walking on the other side of Taylor.
    Taylor realized they’d been waiting for him to arrive, and they’d made sure to be there to walk in with him. It made him love his friends all the more. Then they turned the corner, and Taylor spotted somebody waiting by his locker.
    “James,” Taylor breathed.
    The stress of having to face his classmates must have gotten to Taylor because all of a sudden his heart pounded a little harder in his chest. Or maybe it was just because he’d never seen James look so sad…so